Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 15, 1995 TAG: 9506150028
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Bernard Jortner and Oscar Williams will run against Bob Anderson, director of the Straight Street teen center, for the district that covers parts of Christiansburg and Ellett Valley.
District E also got a new contender in Michael Smith; and Joe Painter, a Blacksburg attorney who had considered a run in District G, decided not to become a candidate.
Williams, former vice president of the state National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, didn't even pick up his packet until 2 p.m. Monday, a few hours after he heard only one person was running for the district seat.
He managed to get signatures from the required 125 registered voters by Tuesday afternoon.
"Well, I figured I have as much commitment to education as anybody else, so I should run," he said.
Williams said his experience as the director of Virginia Tech's Institute for Youth and Minority Entrepreneurship would help him be an effective member.
"It will help because I've worked in the community with public service groups, church groups, volunteer organizations," Williams said Wednesday.
A resident of Montgomery County since 1977, he is divorced and has three grown children.
Beginning in 1990, Williams served four years as president of Montgomery County's NAACP chapter. Still an active member, he proposed renaming either Christiansburg Middle or High School after the Holmes family, a black family whose members taught in Montgomery County for a combined 100 years.
He said he doesn't have any particular "beefs with the board," and is "committed to excellence in the schools."
Williams said he will elaborate on his goals for the School Board at a news conference Saturday, but has not set a time.
Recent news of the uncontested race also motivated Jortner to run for the four-year position.
"I thought there should be a choice, and I thought I could have an impact," he said.
Jortner is the father of three grown children, the youngest a student at the College of William and Mary. His wife, Carol, will begin teaching in the gifted program at Riner and Bethel elementary schools this fall.
Jortner said he sees a great deal of value and promise in the current school curriculum.
"We have strong academic programs and activities and sincere, dedicated people," he said. "We need to build on those."
A former member of the PTA, Jortner said he would like to see more involvement by parents, teachers and students with the School Board.
He said the board needs to develop effective relationships with the community, and particularly with the Board of Supervisors.
What was formerly a three-way race in District G is now down to Peggy Arrington and Wat Hopkins. Painter, who announced plans to run for the district seat last month, did not file petition papers by the Tuesday deadline.
The Blacksburg lawyer, who in February dropped his bid to become Montgomery County's commonwealth's attorney, said he decided two weeks ago not to run.
Painter cited his plans to move out of the district, which includes the Woodbine subdivision, as the reason he changed his mind.
But Painter said he will probably not move entirely out of Montgomery County, particularly because he is involved with the development of an ecumenical Christian high school in the area.
Another three-way race recently developed in District E, which includes the northwest section of the county. Victor Sheppard, who works at Radford Army Ammunition Plant, and Christian Coalition Chairman Jack LeDoux, a retired Virginia Tech professor, will also run against Michael Smith. Smith turned in his petitions Friday.
Smith, who just began his two-year term as president of the arsenal's union, said he can use his experience listening to 985 union members for the School Board.
"I listen to every person with an open mind," he said. "Because it's important to him, it becomes important to me."
Parents of the T-ball team Smith coaches encouraged him to run. He said children should be disciplined, but should have fun, too.
"We need to have a creative learning environment, especially for the lower grades," he said.
Smith and his wife, Sherrie, have two children, ages 16 and 7. He is a member of the PTA.
The District F race remains at two contenders: incumbent Dick Edwards and Jim Klagge, a Virginia Tech philosophy professor.
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB